I’m lying there in my bed as the fog of sleep is about to clear in my head. My dream of playing video games on an idyllic Saturday afternoon has just ended. It’s time to act. I want the dream to come true.

What do I see now? Golden sun rays stream through the window next to my bed and trigger my eyes to open. It’s a sign that I should get up and start my day. My eyes slowly open like a theatre curtain and promptly shutter because of the light’s stinging harshness. I force them open again and sit there in my bed trying to come to my senses. I feel slightly inebriated with fatigue from a long night but sober up in a couple of seconds.

Now, I’m all bright-eyed, sleep refreshed and ready for the rigours of the day. Nothing can stand in my way as I spring out of bed and land on my feet. The calendar is empty. It’s go time!

I gallop out of my bedroom but stop mid stride as I notice something. I’m overwhelmed by a wave of choices that float in my head. But I artfully dodge that indecisive danger and resolve to play games that afternoon. After all, I have absolutely no plans for the day to thwart my gaming dreams.

So, I walk toward my desk, turn on my PC, and get ready to dive into some great games. I pick up the controller and another thought pops into my head. My beard is a little itchy. Maybe I could use a shave.

The mirror never lies. It looks like I have a lumberjack’s beard. Scratch that. I look like a lumberjack who’s been sleeping in the wilderness for a month with nothing but his axe and the clothes on his back. In other words, I look a little rough around the edges. Also, the urban lumberjack look doesn’t suit me.

So it’s time to practice all that boring hygiene stuff. Give me about half an hour… Ok, now I’m back to my regularly scheduled programming.

Wait! I need to refuel with some good food to get me through the day. Contrary to what you might have thought, Mountain Dew is not the fuel that I’m talking about.

I better make some steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. Of course, you’ve got to top it off with some fresh fruit and stuff. All right, now I’m fully charged and ready to spend some energy on games.

Hmmm my fridge is empty though. So I run over to the store to stock up on groceries. It sounds like a simple task. But there wasn’t a cloud in the endless blue sky and the sun was still shining. How can I be expected to ignore that?

I think to myself, “I’d better go for a bike ride and make the most of this day.”

So forty-five minutes later, dripping with sweat, I get back home in one piece. A quick wash up and I’m ready this time. But I should munch on this delicious sandwich and soup that I made.

Alright already, I’m rested and full of energy, as well as good food. It seems like playing video games will happen in the immediate future.

Then my computer starts to taunt me. “Come on, write a blog post or two. Write another short story. Or do both!”

After couple hours of writing, I’m exhausted. I slowly turn towards the clock and realize it’s late. It’s 6 p.m. The phone rings. It’s my friends. They want to go out for dinner to a new pizza place and got tickets to a show no one thought we’d get. This is too good to turn down.

About 6 hours later, I get home and get ready for bed. I figured I could squeeze in an hour or so of a good game. But my bed, and the book on the nightstand, are beckoning me to come closer. I fold. Then I plop myself into bed. I instinctively reach for Don Quixote and read until my eyelids can no longer resist the concrete weights pushing them down.

Just before I doze off, I try to plan what I’ll do on Sunday. Well, chances are I’ll wake up with book on my head and end up looking for my twisted glasses on the floor. After getting myself cleaned up, I have some volunteer work to do, among other things.

I guess I’ll get a chance next Saturday.

***

Do you ever have enough time to play video games? If so, how do you make time for them? If not, what’s keeping you from living out your dream of playing more video games? What will you do to make your dream come true?

9 responses to “Desperately Seeking Video Games”

This past week I haven’t really had time to play video games because there was a Revival at my church. Usually, though, I have plenty of time because I try to never be too busy. After all, if I’m too busy, and something urgent comes up (like one of my family members get in a car accident of something) there’s a chance I will be too busy to go help them. I’m not saying that it’s bad to be busy, just not to be too busy for the things that really matter. Of course, we’re talking about video games right now, so I guess this isn’t the best example.

I try not to be busy all the time too. If I kept my self busy all the time, I wouldn’t have time to reflect or to be a person capable of loving others. I would go crazy because I need time to relax in order to be my most lovable self.

Video games are a good way for me to relax, and I try making time for them. However, there are some Saturdays – which is the day I usually play video games – where it’s just impossible to play. That’s life. That’s also what this post is about.

Thankfully, I do have other hobbies and activities that help me relax. But video games are special and I always look forward to playing them. 🙂

I would play more games, but, like Strawberry, I go to church EVERY Sunday. People think it’s odd for me to miss a Sunday service, or skip out on Wednesday nights. But I still go. I really want to sit down on my bed and play Animal Crossing: New Leaf or go into my game room and kill some New Super Luigi U, but I’m even more happy I’m in church. On Saturdays, when I also usually get to gamin’, I usually have something planned. I actually went garage-saling (if that’s even a thing) and stopped by the flea market. At the market I picked up a copy of Shadow the Hedgehog for PlayStation2 for $5!! But, Shadow said the “D” word, and being the Christian I am, I stopped playing it. Anyway, just like you, everyday life keeps me from gaming more. Solution? Just bring your 3DS with you., and maybe a game like Mario Kart 7, or Pokemon Mystery Doungeon.

I try to play at small bursts at most, the longest I play is on my 3DS in front of the TV, or during trips and such. I recently played some Geist for the Gamecube last weekend, I think I got in about an hour or so, and I realized that the less gaming time I can cram in, the less I have the patience to put more than one hour in each sitting.

I play in small bursts too. I noticed that I have less time to play video games these days. Sometimes I’ll promise myself that I’ll play one Saturday afternoon for an hour, but then I never get around to it. Sometimes I even go a month or two without them because I’m busy with family, friends, work, volunteering, writing/cooking/hobbies and so on. But I still love video games.